I was in Chicago with friends in May and we went to the Last Chapter Bookstore. Fabulous bookstore — we all left with books.
AND! They had my books. This was very exciting for me. You may have not guessed, but I’m kinda small potatoes so finding my books in a bookstore was a big deal for me.
I’m not filing this under big news yet — but I am working on romance again. I am going to get the mailing list up and running again and hopefully will have more concrete news soon.
Bev Ortiz wrote a lovely article about the Crooked Rock series and my other writing in News from Native California. Purchase link here.
Huge thanks to everyone checking out the books and writing reviews or sending me notes. I’m so happy people keep finding it.
Orleans Bridge, Klamath River, CA
We are days away from Book 4 and all your questions about Crooked Rock will be answered.
After all these books I finally learned how to do a preorder and your links are here:
The process for doing paperbacks is easier but I still want to see a copy before I hit the publish button on that. It should be available Thursday or Friday.
If you haven’t read the prequel short story, take care of that now. It’s not mandatory but there’s a little set-up that gets paid off in Book Four. Links for that here:
Not Your Mascot pdf | mobi | epub
Thanks again to all my supporters. I appreciate you all.
Hope you enjoy the book.
I’m still on track to get Book Four out in May. I’m afraid to put an exact date because some parts of the process are out of my control.
Book 4 is Linda and Arnie.
Here is the blurb:
Linda and Arnie are the should have been that never happened.
Linda Bird has poured her heart into building a community for Indians in the city, but the setbacks keep coming and her supporters are losing faith. In college, Arnie Jackson was a sexy-but-aggravating rival. Now she needs his help if Crooked Rock is going to succeed. Turns out he’s still sexy, he’s still aggravating, and she’s never gotten over him.
Arnie has dealt with every challenge Indian Country has thrown at him, but nothing could have prepared him for the accusations that bring his leadership into question. Linda has been his most loyal friend—equal parts stubborn and dazzling—and she’s the only one he trusts to help him through this crisis.
They have always been right for each other, but it’s never been the right time—until now.
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I wrote a prequel short story about Linda and Arnie in college — if you subscribe to the newsletter you can get your hands on it immediately. If you don’t like subscribing to newsletters, don’t worry. I will have it up on the website eventually.
Next weekend Heartbeat Braves is going to be free!
If you or a loved one need a book about sexy urban Indians, your problems are solved.
This is Book One of Four.
When I started, I intended to write four stand-alone romances with a minor background story connecting them. That got away from me. There are unresolved story elements in this book.
Book Four will be out in late spring and wrap up all open storylines.
Here’s the blurb:
There’s never a dull moment at the Crooked Rock Urban Indian Center.
Rayanne Larson knows firsthand the struggles of native people. Working at Crooked Rock gives her the chance to do good work for Indians living in the city. She has high hopes for the Center’s progress until its new leader hands her special project over to his underachieving–and distractingly sexy–nephew.
Henry Grant’s life is going just fine. Though he knows rez life, he’s always been an urban Indian. He has no interest in the Indian Center job his uncle pushes on him. That is until he meets Rayanne. She’s attractive and smart, and like no woman he has ever met.
Rayanne is determined to keep her distance but when the Center faces a crisis, the two of them are forced to work together, and she can no longer ignore the sparks between them.
Here are the purchase links:
Thanks for all the terrific support of Sweetheart Braves. I’m glad that people are finding the book. If you enjoyed any of the books and are inclined to leave reviews, I appreciate it. It helps me find new readers.
I’m about halfway through Crooked Heart Braves, Linda and Arnie’s story. I’m afraid to estimate when I can get it done because I don’t want to jinx myself. Before summer 2019 is the goal.
Last year I gave up my BookBub newsletter because I was buying about 5 books for every one I managed to read but I caved and resubscribed. Plus Tor has a book club and I have a bunch those. Not to mention buying actual books. Kira gave me A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas for my birthday and I read that in a week and ran out and bought the next two. But right this second I’m reading Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn because I liked the HBO series.
As soon as I finish Arnie and Linda I’m taking some time off for just reading. (Probably not true because I have some short stories sitting here that I would love to finish.)
This beautiful bright orange pumpkin is going to be made into a pie for Thursday’s dessert.
If you missed it, Sweetheart Braves received a terrific review from Dear Author: Recommended Read.
I’m working like crazy on book 4. It’s a pretty rugged first draft but I’m hoping I can finish by the end of the year. Each one is different but generally its easier for me to fix it once I have a draft than it is to make it up out of nothing. I’ll keep you updated.
Here’s the blurb:
Tommy Weaver wants to stay sober and that means steering clear of challenging situations, avoiding difficult people, and staying away from personal relationships. Unfortunately, he has a cousin unsuccessfully rehabbing in his spare room while Crooked Rock demands more than he can give, and in the midst of his growing troubles, the irresistible Elizabeth appears.
Elizabeth Lewis couldn’t wait to finish college and get back to the security of her home and family on the reservation. But when her granny, a well-known Indian activist, seeks to right a family wrong, Elizabeth finds herself back in the city and seeking assistance from Crooked Rock. She convinces Tommy to join her and as her mission grows more complicated, he never leaves her side.
Neither of them expected to fall this hard, so what happens when it’s time for Elizabeth to go back home?
Here are the links:
Kindle | Nook | Apple | Kobo | Paperback-TBD
Sorry, this isn’t a standalone. You’ll get more out of this if you read at least one of the other books first. I’d recommend reading them in order.
Paperback is still under formation. I’ll let you know the minute it’s available.
This is the current state of the garden. Should there be so many sunflowers crowding everything else out? Probably not. They are all volunteers, and I yank lots of them out. But then they get a couple of feet tall, and I feel bad, ending their lives when they will soon be happy sunflowers, so my garden is always chaos.
There is a tomato in there and at least three pumpkins, a bunch of bolting greens, volunteer tomatillos, beets, potatoes. I’m happy with it.
Crooked Rock Book 3 news: I don’t have an exact release date but before the end of August. The best way to find out the exact date is to sign up for the newsletter here. I rarely send it, so you don’t have to worry about it clogging your inbox. There’s a short story about Linda and Arnie in college when you sign up.
Sweetheart Braves is off to the betas. Here’s the cover:
Here’s the blurb:
Tommy Weaver wants to stay sober and that means steering clear of challenging situations, avoiding difficult people, and staying away from personal relationships. Unfortunately, he has a cousin unsuccessfully rehabbing in his spare room while Crooked Rock demands more than he can give, and in the midst of his growing troubles, the irresistible Elizabeth appears.
Elizabeth Lewis couldn’t wait to finish college and get back to the security of her home and family on the reservation. But when her granny, a well-known Indian activist, seeks to right a family wrong, Elizabeth finds herself back in the city and seeking assistance from Crooked Rock. She convinces Tommy to join her and as her mission grows more complicated, he never leaves her side.
Neither of them expected to fall this hard, so what happens when it’s time for Elizabeth to go back home?
I like how this photo looks so dramatic. I’m always rushing to take photos and end up with terrible light and shadows in weird places. It cracks me up when I get something turns out like this.
My brother and sister-in-law have moved back to town. We celebrated BILs birthday last month and I made him a pie. I love this giant pie dish.
I intended to take more photos of the process but I am a failed lifestyle blogger and completely forgot even with the camera sitting on the kitchen counter.
Manuscript is messier than I would like at this point but it’s coming along. Hopefully I can get it into your hands by the beginning of September.